Ursula's Corruption
by DwaejiTokki
Summary: After the death of Ariel's mother, the king was beside himself with grief, so Ursula took over for a period of time. However, when the time came to return that power, she refused to relinquish it, so the King forcefully took it and threw her out of the palace. [This story does not follow Ariel's Beginning (2008) or the series.]
1. Chapter 1

Ursula's Corruption

**Summary**: After the death of Ariel's mother, the king was beside himself with grief, so Ursula took over for a period of time. However, when the time came to return that power, she refused to relinquish it, so the King forcefully took it and threw her out of the palace. **[This story does not follow Ariel's Beginning (2008) or the series.]**

**Rating**: K+, for unexplicit death

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing but my ideas.

Chapter 1

All of Atlantica mourned the loss of the queen. But none were more devastated than the royal family. King Triton and his seven daughters wept for their lost love, and would not be comforted. The King refused to leave his room, not even for his kingly duties. When a servant had tried to coax him out, he had thrown his crown and demanded to left alone. The servant had then tried to convince the princesses to help their father, but none could be pulled out of their misery but the eldest, Attina, but even she could not bring the king out.

So the court advisers of Atlantica all gathered together in the palace to discuss what to do. None really wanted to make a decision without their powerful king, and his seat at the head of the coral table was left empty and cold. His crown, a symbol of power and hope, lay at his spot, but now a sense of foreboding hung over it.

"One of us," said one adviser slowly, "will have to take over for a time. Just until the king can bear his grief."

"Yes," another agreed. "We cannot leave Atlantica with no rule. That would lead to chaos and disorder."

"But who will rule?" asked another. "Who is fit for this?"

No one answered, but lowered their gaze. Only Triton was king and rightful ruler, and all were hesitant to pick up the crown.

Finally one adviser stood from her seat. "I will do it, if you deem me worthy. I may not be a mermaid, I may not be fit to rule, but I am just. I will listen and do what is best for the people of Atlantica until King Triton finds his heart again."

"Ursula," said the eldest adviser. "You are, as you said, a cecaelia, not one of us. However, you are fair, and strong. Your magic will likely be a good attribute."

Ursula nodded seriously. Her long, flowing white hair was rolled neatly into a conical bun behind her head, and was adorned with gold-crusted pearls. Her red lips pulled up into a small, responsible smile. "If you all agree, then I will take on the responsibility of the kingdom," she said.

The advisers all shared a look, and when no one spoke against the magician, the lead adviser nodded. "Then take the crown and set to your new duties," he said. He swam over to the crown, then around the table to Ursula and placed it atop her hair.

She nodded to him deferringly, and then raised her chin proudly. "I will do my best."

The advisers bowed to her respectfully.

* * *

><p>By her word, Ursula did right by the Atlantican citizens. She made sure the laws were upheld, and that the people were safe and happy as they could be, considering the circumstances. Ursula was fair in her decisions as judge, and saw anyone who requested her presence. She listened to all advice given to her, and then chose a course of action after long, careful hours of thinking.<p>

In the palace, Ursula made sure that everyone and everything was kept up to Triton and Athena's standards. The servants continued to do their jobs and were paid for it. The palace was kept clean and open. The princesses were given every comfort they could offer, though they were still quite upset by their mother's death. They didn't want to see anyone, and this Ursula respected by having another room close to them converted into a private dining room. There the girls were fed every day by "invisible" cooks. The king had his meals delivered to his chambers, though he rarely ate much. Ursula also kept up the tradition of the palace feasts, where everyone in the kingdom was invited to come eat their fill. She was a kind ruler, and was praised.

Ursula, as was her wont as court magician, still concocted potions for the sick and weak. Her magic was her best attribute, according to many, and was the reason she was accepted into the palace in the first place. Athena had convinced Triton of her use when she had proved helpful, and Athena was the one who had welcomed the sea witch. Ursula was eternally grateful for the queen's kindness. Soon enough, Triton had come to see that Ursula was good, as Athena had claimed, and had warmed up. Once the king had done so, the rest of the kingdom followed suit. Ursula had never known such love, not even from her own mother and sister. She wanted to repay the Atlantican's kindness.

It was quite a few months before the king came forth from his chambers. He was welcomed back by the servants and advisers. Triton, however, had changed in his time in isolation. He didn't smile at any of them, and went to the throne room, where Ursula was dealing with a dispute between neighbors.

"What is going on here?" he boomed.

Ursula and the two mermen looked at him. They all seemed to forget the argument and seemed relieved and happy that Triton had finally come out.

But before they could voice this, Triton rudely dismissed the mermen with a wave of his hand. Looking a bit confused, they scurried off. The king had never behaved that way, and they didn't want to be around if it escalated.

Ursula's smile had faded, giving way to concern. "My king," she said, "are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he said with a scowl. "Return my crown."

"Of course," she said, removing it. Her brow furrowed as she looked at him. "My king, you looked exhausted...Are you quite sure you are ready to reclaim your duties? If you need more time, I am more than willing-"

"Silence."

Ursula blinked in surprise. His voice was quiet, but it was the dangerous kind. He was angry. Triton roughly grabbed his crown from her hands and perched it on his own head. Ursula noted that a few strands of his auburn hair had turned white in his absence. She bowed to him and moved aside so he could sit in his throne. But she was still worried.

"King Triton," she tried again, but he would not hear of it.

"Why have you taken over my kingdom?" he asked, settling into his throne.

"You were grieving, my king," she replied, bowing her head. "The kingdom was without rule, so I and the advisers met and had to make the decision of what to do. We decided it would be best of one of us took over temporarily, until you felt well enough to rule again, and it was unanimously voted that I would bear the responsibility."

"You?" he repeated in a hard tone. It was almost mocking, and Ursula was glad he could not see the offended, horrified look on her face. "A cecaelian? Ha! Your kind are not worthy of any crown, let alone mine."

Her head dipped lower. "My apologies, my king," she said huskily.

Triton looked at her with a cold gaze. "I knew you were not to be trusted," he uttered.

Ursula finally raised her eyes to him. "Your majesty," she said briskly, "I have done nothing but what is best for your kingdom. I had hoped that you would see this, and when you returned everything would return to what it was."

The king only looked angrier at her words. "What it was? What it was? My queen is gone, and this kingdom will never return to what it was. Don't you see, witch?" Ursula flinched at the passion with which he spoke. "There can be no returning to that time. So I must rid this place of everything that resembles the past. We must move forward."

"What do you mean, my king?" Ursula asked, now more concerned than ever. Triton was obviously in no state to rule.

"Music is banished from this kingdom," Triton said loudly.

"Your majesty!" she exclaimed in horror. "But think of what Queen Athena-"

"You will not speak of her!" Triton roared, eyes flashing dangerously. He grabbed his trident and the three prongs glowed with power as he pointed it toward her. Ursula could only shiver with fear and look up at him pleadingly. "You are nothing to this kingdom. You are a cecaelian, a lowly creature undeserving of kindness! You are banished from my kingdom, forever!"

Ursula's face drained of color. Her heart seemed to stop, and she felt cold and sick. "Your majesty," she uttered, hardly over a whisper. Tears burned her eyes. "You cannot, I have no-"

"Banished!" Triton reiterated. "Leave my kingdom immediately, and never dare to set one tentacle in my boundaries, lest I have you killed!"

The trident glowed more fiercely, and Ursula turned and fled for her life. She knew that there was no hope for her as long as the king was like this. Her only hope was that he would realize his mistakes in the banishment of Athena's loves and ask her return. She worried for the citizens of Atlantica, but mostly she worried for her disappeared king.

**A/N: **I have always loved Ursula. I think her backstory (the one I imagine and am writing) is really cool. Disney villains are always awesome.

So that's why I'm writing this. :)

Thanks for reading, and I hope it wasn't too horrible! Next chapter will be up as soon as I write it. If you have any questions, I will gladly answer (no spoilers, though). If you catch an error, please don't hesitate to tell me so I can fix it! ^-^b


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

She really had nowhere to go. She had lived in the palace for quite a while now, thanks to Queen Athena. Ursula had nearly forgotten what it was like to wander from place to place, never quite fitting in. She didn't fit in anywhere. Not with her own kind, not with the mermaids, not with the humans. Sure, she could have used her magic to transform herself into a mermaid, but that would require a lot of work, and even with that spell it was time-limited.

Once Ursula had passed the border of Atlantica, Ursula could finally rest. Triton was the ruler of the entire sea, yes, but even he never traveled far. He stuck to his favorite part of the kingdom, his precious city Atlantica. She sank down on an algae-coated stone, breathing heavily. She was plump, yes, but in a healthy way. Ursula was exhausted from her flee, and hungry, and horribly upset. Now that no one was around to see it, she could finally let out her tears.

Ursula covered her face in her hands and wailed to her heart's desire. It just wasn't fair. Ursula had done nothing wrong, never had. She loved to help creatures, and she used her magic to do so. Of course, the magical method was a controversial one, and in the past she had been met with much opposition, especially where she had come from. Only her mother had been proud of her natural ability, but she had passed away long ago, and she had run away.

Once she was out of tears, Ursula quieted and just rested where she was for a long while, face still covered. She vaguely wondered if anyone had managed to talk some sense in Triton, but with his nature, she highly doubted it. It would probably be a long while before she was welcomed back, and even then the chance of that was slim. If she did return, she would have to rebuild her credibility and reputation from scratch, and there was no queen to help her.

The cecaelian took a shaky, calming breath and looked around herself. She would have to find a cave or sunken ship for shelter. It was back to the wandering days for her. Ursula decided that she would just have to make the best of it. It wasn't all bad. She was alone, yes, but that way she could practice her spells in peace, perhaps take up another hobby. She could still help merpeople-they would just have to travel a little farther to reach her, was all.

In the distance, she spotted something that looked like a cave and made her way toward it. She was right, as she usually was. Over the years she had come to recognize things like that; it helped her to survive.

"Anyone home?" Ursula called in tentatively, peering into the darkness. She picked up a stone from the sand below her and focused some magic into it. The rock began to give off a strong light, penetrating deep into the cavern.

The entrance was a tunnel, more than large enough for her to get through. When she didn't see anyone or hear a reply, Ursula went in, holding the lantern-rock in front of her. The tunnel opened up into a large, spacious room, with an opening above her. Dim light filtered down from above, so Ursula surmised that the opening led up to the surface. The cave was empty, for the most part. It needed a bit of cleaning, but most undersea things did.

Ursula felt something soft and cool under her tentacle and with a gasp leapt backwards in a flurry of bubbles. She lowered the glowing rock to see what it was. "Oh!" As she looked at them, two little translucent eggs floated upwards in the current she had created. Looking closely and holding the light closer, she could see two tiny eels in the eggs.

"Are you two all alone?" she asked, cupping her hands around them and drawing them close to her chest. She looked around the cavern, but saw no signs of any brothers or sisters. "You are, aren't you?" The eels wriggled in their eggs as if to agree with her.

"I am, too," she said softly, sinking to the cavern floor to sit. Her tentacles curled around her, and she looked down at the eggs in her hand lovingly. "I know, I know. Well, you have no mother, and I have no family...Perhaps we could live together, just the three of us? I'd like that. Would you?"

Of course the embryos couldn't reply, but Ursula liked to think they agreed with her. She would wait patiently for her babies to hatch, and raise them as her own. If they chose to leave her, she wouldn't stop them of course. But maybe, just maybe, they would love her, too.

With a hopeful smile at the thought, Ursula tucked the eggs in a safe place in a corner of the cavern and set to work cleaning. She ridded the place of all the seaweed, scraped out all of the mud, and excavated shelves and a small hole in the wall. She decided to make that her bed. In the center of the room was a small pillar of stone with a round basin. Looking around, Ursula finally decided that this had belonged to someone long ago, but they had abandoned the place. But that was okay with her, for it looked quite homely. She could really fix the place up, and live quite comfortably. She could provide for her babies.

Ursula at least had that small happiness that no one could take from her.

**A/N:** Sorry, short chapter. But the story isn't going to be very long, as it takes place just a few years before the Little Mermaid movie.

Thanks for reading! ^-^ Next chapter will be up as soon as I write it.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

About a month passed, and Ursula had spent much of that time collecting various ingredients for potions and spells. Most of the shelves in her cave had been filled, and had found a mirror and chair to bring in. All in all, her devoid little cavern looked much better. By this time, Ursula had convinced herself that she had gotten over her banishment. She didn't need to live in the palace, it was too grand for her taste. Triton could have it all, and she would be happy right where she was with her two babies, who were getting ready to hatch.

In fact, a few merpeople had come all the way out to visit her. They missed her, and needed her, they said. She readily helped them, as she always did. But since she was no longer financially supported by the palace, she tentatively asked that she receive something in return for her services, explaining her predicament. Luckily, the merpeople were kind and understanding as always, and promised payment when they next returned, taking Ursula's spell with them.

And so Ursula waited patiently in her cave, tending to the eggs and practicing her magic. But none of the merpeople returned. But still, she waited, hoping against hope that they would come. And once in a while, a young, curious mermaid would come by, asking about love potions. She would answer and name her price, and promising the payment, the mermaid left with the potion. But no young love-sick mermaid ever returned with the payment. Ursula felt more than a little betrayed and angry at the merpeople for taking advantage of her, but she quickly forgot those wrongs when the little eggs hatched.

The tiny little eels wriggled free from their eggs, squeaking. Ursula heard them and went to the nursery corner, as she called it, and watched delightfully as they struggled to come out into the world. Finally, the first baby made it out and took a moment to find its bearing before slithering through the water toward Ursula.

She gasped, smiling tearfully, and cupped the baby in her hands. "You're so beautiful," she whispered. "I'll call you Flotsam, my dear."

As she was preoccupied with the first-born, the second eel had managed to get out and now joined his brother. Ursula cried out lovingly.

"And you, Jetsam."

The tiny eels wriggled through the water and rubbed up against their mother's face, acquainting themselves with her.

"You two must be hungry," Ursula said suddenly. "Yes, come with me, my darling Flotsam and Jetsam. "We'll find something delicious for you."

She looked over her shoulder to make sure they were coming, and her heart swelled with happiness when they were. She led them out of the cave and toward the bay, where she knew there was plenty to eat.

* * *

><p>Nearly a year had passed, and Ursula's Flotsam and Jetsam had grown up. She had showered them with love and fed them well, and when asked, she had infused them with a little magic so that they could contact each other when they were far away-the boys used their golden eyes to contact Ursula through her crystal ball. Flotsam and Jetsam often went out on their own to find a bite to eat, and spread the word of their mother's magical remedies to bring her income to sustain herself.<p>

Ursula had learned her lesson long ago. She no longer trusted anyone to bring back payment. Instead, she made up contracts to ensure they would keep their word. These contracts were infused with magic. Those who didn't pay had the magic revoked, and the consequences were dire. It's not as though Ursula lied; she told them beforehand that if they didn't pay they would not have their lives. They became Ursula's trophies-still alive, of course, Ursula was no killer, but hers nonetheless. Many of them made good on their promises, but there were those who couldn't pay the price.

In a way it was revenge on Triton. Of course Ursula had heard all of the news in Atlantica. Triton had been convinced to let the music be played, and the singing and dancing had returned. Everything Queen Athena had loved about Atlantica had been reinstated. Except Ursula. Ursula had been forgotten, cast aside. Oh, the injustice of it all! But if a few merpeople disappeared here and there, it was no skin off of Ursula's back. The other merpeople might wonder where they had gone, and Triton might, too, but there was nothing he could do if his foolish people didn't uphold their bargains. Ursula could not be held at fault, and she had never set foot in Atlantica, either. He could do nothing to do, and that was sweet.

And so it continued for over a decade. Ursula's contracts usually went well, leaving the client with a happy ending and Ursula with money or some other deal like makeup or food or news. Only those that went bad left Ursula with a favor as well. She had made it so. Ursula was doing well for herself, without Triton's help. Instead she had something much better than all of Atlantica: her two boys, who loved her just as she loved them.

Once in a while she wondered how Triton would look to be in her place, wallowing in a cave with his seven daughters. Ha! How pathetic he would be, if he were in her place. Only Ursula had the ability to make something wonderful out of nothing. Imagine if she had the powers of Triton's trident as well...Yes, imagine that. She had it once, she remembered, but she had used it in his honor. Honor he didn't have, and look where it had got her. She could take it back, under the right circumstances. Watch Triton writhe as she became the ruler, and he was left powerless. Yes, that would be quite something.

Her crystal ball lit up in the center of the room. Ursula's boys were calling her. She went over and peered into it to see what they wanted to show her. It was the youngest princess, Ariel, who looked so much like her mother. But she knew from the occasional client's news update that Ariel behaved nothing like the queen. She was as brash and idiotic as her father, though rather than harboring a hatred for humans, she loved them. Ursula's lips stretched into a smile as she thought this. Yes, Ariel could become quite useful. She just had to wait for the right moment.

"Yeeeeeees, hurry home, princess," Ursula crooned. "We wouldn't want to miss old daddy's celebration, now, would we? Huh! Celebration indeed. Bah! In MY day, we had fantastical feasts when I lived in the palace. And now, look at me - wasted away to practically nothing - banished and exiled and practically starving, while he and his flimsy fish-folk celebrate." She scowled. "Well, I'll give 'em something to celebrate soon enough. Flotsam! Jetsam! I want you to keep an extra close watch on this pretty little daughter of his. She may be the key to Triton's undoing..."

**A/N:** Okay, this is the fastest I have ever finished a story. Yes, it's finished. That speech, if you remember, is the speech from the first movie when we first see Ursula, and therefore the beginning of plotline in the Little Mermaid. I'm not going to type out the entire movie, not even just Ursula's parts, because you already know it. ^-^b

Thanks for reading, and I hope it wasn't too horrible!


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